[Version of this document in Word]
(revised report not dated)
MOUNT TOBY FRIENDS MEETING
Report of the Burial Committee as amended and approved 3d mo. 12 1982 (#5)
1. The Burial Committee will be responsible for the burial ground, for physical arrangements of burials, for legal oversight, and for the keeping of Meeting burial records.
2. The burial ground will be a plot of land, 70' by 150� , located southeast of the meeting house, as shown in
the plan submitted to tie Town of
�In case of cremation, grave plots may be used for the ashes of more than one person. Members of the same family may choose to have their ashes buried in the same plot. Tops of containers for ashes are to be deep enough for markers to be placed above them.
No plot may be reserved in advance, except for a single plot for the spouse of someone already buried.
3. Burial in the Meeting burial ground is for members of Mount Toby Meeting, and for their family within one generation (i.e., a member's spouse, parents, or children). Also eligible will be members of other Friends Meetings who are resident here and have been active in Mount Toby Meeting. Exceptions will be granted rarely; they may apply to faithful attenders who have made major contributions to the life of our Meeting.
Any exceptions, as well as other immediate decisions about burial, will be decided on by one or more available Overseers, acting in consultation with available members of the Burial Committee. In view of the urgency and the uniqueness of each such decision, no such exception to the eligibility rules is to be later construed as a precedent that encourages subsequent exceptions to the usual rules.
4. There will be no charge for a burial plot, but families will be responsible for expenses for the burial or for funeral arrangements. The Burial Committee will suggest a suitable donation to the Burial Fund, which will pay for the maintenance of the burial ground and associated expenses. This Fund will be under the care of the Committee, subject to an annual report to the Meeting Finance Committee.
5. The Burial Committee will keep a permanent memorial book of Meeting burials. Its form will become definitive after some experience is gained. Families or friends may also place a simple brass plaque on a wall at a location as yet to be decided on. Such plaques will be of a standard size to be determined by the Burial Committee.
A printed brochure will be prepared to describe these and related rules for interested persons.
In regard to 3a, the Burial Committee was asked to re-word statements about parents or children, the ashes of more than one family a plot; in 5, questions were raised about not having any plaques or plaques for persons not buried here.